Loss of consortium

What is loss of consortium?

Loss of consortium is a claim belonging to the spouse of an injured person, compensating for the harm the marriage itself suffered because of the injury.

It is a separate cause of action from the injured person's own claim, brought by the spouse in their own right rather than derivatively through the injured person.

Because it belongs to the spouse, it must generally be pleaded specifically, and it can be affected independently by issues such as the timing of the marriage relative to the injury.

It exists because an injury damages relationships as well as bodies, and the law recognizes that a spouse experiences real loss even without being physically hurt.

What does the claim cover?

The category reaches several dimensions of a marriage that an injury can damage.

• Loss of companionship and shared activities
• Loss of intimacy and sexual relations
• Loss of household services the injured spouse previously provided
• The burden of providing care the injured spouse now requires
• Emotional distress from witnessing a partner's suffering
• Changes to the overall character of the marital relationship

How is it proven?

Primarily through testimony, from the uninjured spouse describing specifically what has changed in the marriage since the injury.

Corroborating testimony from people close to the couple who have observed the change firsthand often strengthens the claim considerably.

Specificity matters more than general assertions. Describing concrete changes such as activities no longer shared or responsibilities now shifted is more persuasive than describing the loss only in general terms.

What limits apply to this claim?

The marriage generally must have existed at the time of the injury, so a marriage entered afterward typically does not support this specific claim, whatever the couple's earlier relationship was.

Where a case involves the verbal threshold, this derivative claim depends on the injured spouse establishing a qualifying injury, since it cannot succeed independently of the underlying claim.

It is also assessed separately from the injured spouse's own pain and suffering, representing a genuinely distinct harm rather than a duplication of the same damages.

Common questions

Can an unmarried partner bring this claim?

Generally the claim is tied to legal marriage or a recognized domestic partnership. Circumstances outside those relationships are typically not covered under this specific claim.

Does this apply if we married after the accident?

Generally not, since the claim depends on the marital relationship existing at the time of the injury.

Is this the same as the injured person's own damages?

No. It is a distinct claim belonging to the spouse, addressing the impact on the marriage rather than the injured person's own suffering.